Welcome to a new monthly feature in 2015, "The Ironing Chef". I came up with the idea, while ironing one day believe it or not, when thinking about what to cook for dinner. I remembered the TV show "The Iron Chef" where they get one ingredient to cook 3 or 4 courses using standard pantry ingredients as well (and they have the really goofy voice overs in the Japanese version of the show). I'm forever making do with what I've got on hand but wanted to share how easy it easy to prepare simple meals using only what you've got. So many times I'd love to run down to the supermarket to pick up those extra few ingredients to make something but hold off and just use what I've got.
Ham & Pineapple Skewers on a Warm Rice Salad
I had some leftover ham from Christmas, which I cut off the bone and froze. Being smack bang in the middle of summer here in Australia, the pineapples are beautiful at the moment so I had half a pineapple that needed using up as well.
The extra ingredients I grabbed from the pantry and fridge were as follows:
(1) 1 cup white rice
(2) frozen vegetable mix of corn, peas, capsicum
(3) last bit of wilted English spinach from the fridge
(4) half a small tub of light sour cream
(5) 6 Butternut Snap Cookies
plus basic seasonings and sauces from the pantry. Not everyone is going to have these same ingredients but it's about using what you do have. If you have frozen broccoli, for example, use that. Or use leftover cake or biscuits of any kind to add to a dessert. Ice cream, cream, Greek or flavoured yoghurt is also good to use in desserts. Rice or pasta, it makes no difference.
I put the rice onto boil and cut the pineapple in half, saving one half for the dessert and cut the other half into chunks and threaded alternately onto a skewer with cubes of the leg ham. I used my sandwich press to cook the skewers.
Just before the rice was cooked, I added a handful of the frozen vegies plus the English spinach, finely shredded. I dressed the rice salad mixture with a mixture of sweet chilli and soy sauce, two ingredients which are always in my pantry.
Pineapple & Coconut Parfait
We're not usually dessert eaters, except the kids might have a bowl of ice cream or an icy pole occasionally. (Usually they don't eat all their dinner so there's no treats.) I decided to make a dessert using the other half of the pineapple and layer it with crunchy biscuit crumbs and a little sour cream. I wasn't sure how the sour cream would go but you wouldn't believe it. I found one solitary ready made meringue stuck up the back of the pantry which I crumbled into the sour cream. I also added a couple drops of coconut essence to the sour cream (another pantry staple of mine) but you could leave it out if you like or add shredded coconut. Let your imagination go wild. (I'll let you in to a little secret. I couldn't believe my luck when searching the pantry to see what I could use when I found a pineapple jelly/jello. It was my intention to have a layered parfait with jelly, sour cream and the biscuit crumbs. I put the fresh pineapple into the jelly and it didn't set because of the natural enzymes that occur in things such as fresh pineapple, kiwi etc. Bugger! I salvaged the pineapple and tossed the jelly but that's the way it goes. That's not the first time a disaster of that magnitude has happened in my kitchen!)
So, other than preparing the jelly earlier in the day (which didn't work anyway), there wasn't much to preparing this meal. I did make the dessert a little before dinner time and just let sit in the fridge. The meal came together really quickly and was very tasty and filling. Never underestimate what you've got lurking in the fridge, pantry or fridge and how it can be used. Rather than throw it away, think outside the box and use it up. Stay tuned for next month when I go into the deep, dark depths of my freezer and fridge to see what needs using up.
PS. I'm not much of a meal planner. I have done it over the years but I've developed a knack of looking in the fridge that morning and working out what we'll be having for dinner. Either way, whatever works for you.
